


Far From The Shallow Now

by goddamnitkastlewrites



Category: Daredevil (TV), The Punisher (TV 2017)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-28
Updated: 2018-12-28
Packaged: 2019-09-26 08:36:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,289
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17138513
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/goddamnitkastlewrites/pseuds/goddamnitkastlewrites
Summary: First posted to goddamnitkastle.tumblr.com on December 25, 2018.This was my #KastleChristmas 2018 gift for @kastlequill. I wrote a fic inspired by 2018′s A Star Is Born, particularly the scene in which Jackson (Bradley Cooper) whisks Ally (Lady Gaga) away from a cop bar after she punches a guy in the face (it was awesome) who was being a dick to Jackson. From there, he takes her to a CVS/Duane Reade/Walgreens/whatever to get frozen peas for her hand and they bond/begin to fall in love in the parking lot.My immediate thought after seeing this was that I needed to write a Kastle version of it and now here we are. It is not the scene verbatim or an AU but rather a twist on it done in canon-ish (it’s suppose to take place post DDS3), true to Kastle fashion.Enjoy!





	Far From The Shallow Now

She doesn’t remember leaving the bar. She doesn’t remember Frank’s hand on the small of her back as they quickly got into his van. She doesn’t even remember her fist connecting to the asshole’s jaw when he tried to strong arm her.

But then it hits her. Frank is pulling into a parking lot when Karen’s hand flares up in pain. She looks down, her knuckles bright red and fingers swollen.

“Come on, Rocky.”

“Jesus Christ.”

The pain is angry and seething as they walk into the Duane Reade.

“Frank this is ridiculous, I have a first aid kit at home.”

“Doesn’t matter. If we don’t get the swelling down now you could fuck up your hand pretty bad.”

“Look I’m...”

The pain shoots through her arm and Karen lets out a pained  _ah_.

“You were saying?”

Karen closes her mouth as they approach the freezer section. He grabs a bag of peas and turns to her.

“This is gonna sting.”

He gently places the bag on her hand. It does sting but the relief is worth it. He lifts it away, his eyes honed in on her fingers.

“Okay put your hands side by side for me, yeah?” He instructs as he reaches for her other hand. His fingertips are calloused but gentle, almost featherlight against her wrist bones. Karen bites her lip to suppress the gasp that formed at his touch.

“Now move your good hand.”

She does and her knuckles crack.

“Been typing all day huh?”

“Yeah. There’s been a lot of paperwork for our new office space.” Karen chuckles.

“I know you were telling me before that piece of shit... don’t matter, now try with the other...”

And no surprise Karen barely can.

“Okay yeah keep the peas on it. Don’t want you to lose your way with words. I’ll go get some gauze.”

She smiles as he stomps down the aisle, intent on finding the gauze when he looks over at the potato chip selection. He grabs a bag of Cheetos without hesitation.

“Cheetos?”

“What? You were saying back at the bar how you haven’t eaten all day.”

She shakes her head and follows him.

The cashier barely registers their slightly haphazard appearances. Her holding a bag of of peas on her hand and him with his wild, outgrown hair and beard.

(He’s been saying for weeks now how he needs to get a cut. Karen has been secretly hoping he’ll never get around to it.)

They check out and head back to the van. He opens the sliding door for her and motions for her to sit. He tosses the Cheetos in the front seat and starts taking the gauze out of the packaging. A few moments of silence pass as Frank wraps her hand.

“There that should do it.”

Karen’s bandaged hand falls into her lap as Frank takes a seat beside her.

“Thank you.”

“Of course.”

The streets are abnormally quiet, with the occasional car and passerby. Only then does Karen realize how late it is.

“How long?”

She knew it wouldn’t be long before he asked.

“How long what?”

“That been going on for? Assholes getting in your face.”

“Um, pretty much from the start, when I was at the  _Bulletin_. It was never that bad until Fisk got out of jail but I guess he still...”

“Has it out for you.” Frank finishes as he scratches his beard.

“Yeah.”

“And this was cause you got in his face? Right? You said, uh...”

“Yeah it was while you were gone. I was trying to get him to attack me but it backfired. It was reckless and stupid and...”

“It was. You scared the shit out of me when you told me.”

“Frank I don’t...”

“Why would you do that? Just throw yourself into the line of fire like that?”

“I don’t want to talk about it. Okay? He’s gone... for now. And you’re here.”

She knows he wants to press on but he restrains himself. For now anyway.

“That was a decent punch by the way.”

She turns her head to him, eyebrows raised.

“Yeah, clearly.” She emphasizes with her injured hand.

“Hey you got him that’s what counts.”

They’re both laughing. It doesn’t last long though and it’s quiet again.

“Why didn’t you call Karen? When that was all going down?”

“Frank...”

“I would’ve came. You know that, right?”

“Of course I know that. Look you said you needed to get away and I didn’t want to ruin that.”

“You wouldn’t have ruined...”

“Frank Castle needs a chance to live. Not the Punisher.”

Frank scoffs and gets up.

“Frank Castle won’t survive if people he cares about get needlessly killed.”

“I know but it wasn’t your fight.”

He turns to her, visibly upset.

“The hell it is. I told you about what went down between me and Fisk when I was in Rikers. I have just as much stake in this as you and Nelson and Murdock...”

He draws out the  _Murdock_  and Karen has to fight the urge to roll her eyes.

“Frank I told you I didn’t want to talk about this...”

“Too fucking bad we are.”

His cutoff startles her and he knows it did. He raises his hand but retreats it immediately. He takes a breath, mutters a string of words; unintelligible and soft. Karen cradles her hand, the peas have gone lukewarm. A car horn blares in the distance, breaking the awkward pause.

“Karen I... I promised you that I was never gonna let anything happen to you...”

“You’re not always gonna be there Frank...”

“Maybe I want to be.”

He clenches his jaw and Karen knows she looks dumbstruck to him.

“Look when I left... it wasn’t cause of Russo or Rawlins or all that shit. I left... cause I’ve been scared.”

“Of what?”

“Of me. Of this, us. There’s something here Karen. And don’t go saying that there ain’t something cause I’m not gonna fucking hear it okay? You spoke of an after and I didn’t want to hear it then but...”

He’s close now, her knees slightly brushing against his. He looks down, half in shadow and half illuminated by harsh fluorescents.

“But?”

“Let’s just go into this together? Dive in, yeah? I’m not good with words but you were there... you believed in me when no one else did. I want to be the same for you.”

He gets on his knees, his hands gripping the floor of the van.

“Frank, I’m afraid that whatever we do beyond... this... I ruin things. I try and I try but I just...”

“Hey. Hey.” He places his hands on top in her thighs.

“I’m not going anywhere.”

She feels it again. The pull she felt when they were in the elevator. She couldn’t control herself then and she concludes right then and there that she never could with him.

Their foreheads meet and it’s the closest feeling to home that Karen has had in a long time.

“I was never one for the shallow end of the pool. I always went for the deep end.”

“You’re a swimmer?”

“Not competitively. Just during the summers at my grandparents’ house in upstate New York.”

He smiles and she smiles and there’s this click, like the universe has finally snapped itself back into its proper place.

“Can I tell you a secret?” He asks after a while. They’re still sitting in the van. He’s been running his fingers down her open palm, cradling the makeshift ice pack he made for her in his lap.

“Yeah?”

“I think we’re gonna be fine. But I’m warning you now, I’m not the best at keeping secrets.”

Before he can spill another one she silences him with a kiss.


End file.
